About 18 years ago, Paddy Spence, CEO of Zevia, started his sugar-free journey at a cabin in the Adirondacks, where the closest store is about 12 miles away, so "whatever you bring is what you have," Spence said.

"My body went into shock for four days. I had no energy and was exhausted," he said. "The only thing for me that would kill cravings was protein. After five days, my energy levels returned."

His body also broke out into hives, but after the initial shock, only good things came.

"I had much more even, higher energies throughout the day," he said. "I lost weight even though [I was] not trying to. There were so many great things that came about."

"If we do nothing else, reducing our sugar is a crucial first step. I was a guy who was active and thought I was healthy," Spence said.

Soon after quitting sugar, Spence found Zevia's all-natural beverages at Whole Foods. He had been making his own ginger ale and tea at home and immediately loved the brand. He contacted the founders, and a partnership was born.

Spence has a long history of helping make niche brands mainstream. He worked at SPINS, a market research company for natural foods, for 25 years.

Zevia was ahead of the curve, he said. People thought it was crazy "the same way they felt about Apple in the '80s," for example, he said.

The brand now has about $200 million in annual sales, and from March 2016 to February 2017 ranked above Pepsi in online sales, according to a Bloomberg report. Zevia is currently the No. 1 low or zero-calorie grape soda, the No. 2 cream soda, and the No. 5 ginger ale brand, according to SPINS.

Athletes were loyal followers early on, Spence said, along with consumers on low-carb diets. Spence receives emails daily from customers about how Zevia is helping them, he said.

"It's so compelling to read stories of real people who just wanted a product that supports their health, and now they do. It makes me excited to get up and fight the big guys every day."

As for sweet celebrations? October was birthday month for both of Spence's daughters, along with Halloween. They celebrated with Smart Sweets, low-sugar gummy sour gummies, and Lily's Sweets, Stevia-sweetened chocolate.